NAMATH LIKES ELI'S CHANCES TO PULL OFF A SUPER UPSET

<p>At no point this week will Eli Manning grab himself a cold one, kick back in a lounge chair at poolside and announce how his team is guaranteed to shock Football America come Sunday.</p><p>First of all, that's not his personality, and besides, some other quarterback has been there and done that.</p><p>But that other quarterback, nearly 40 years after his famous prediction, came up with another:</p><p>"Eli and the Giants can do it, I'm telling you," Joe Namath said.</p><p>If anyone has a feel for this sort of thing, it's Namath. Eli and the New York Giants will be bracing to fight tremendous odds. The New England Patriots, with their perfect record, genius coach and loaded offense, are equipped to pummel the Giants and keep suspense from entering Super Bowl XLII. In many ways, these Patriots look a lot like the formidable Baltimore Colts of 1969, who were widely expected to thump Namath and the Jets, although we know how that turned out.</p><p>So once again, a lightly regarded New York team, led by a rising young quarterback, finds itself up against the world, and there aren't many who see a major upset brewing, other than a New York icon who saw something four decades ago.</p><p>"I've got nothing against New England," Namath said. "But this will be the first time I'll be pulling for an NFC team. I like what I've seen from Eli and the Giants."</p><p>We'll know on Sunday if the Giants can match their namesake football brothers on the shock meter. We do know that no quarterback other than Namath and Phil Simms has captivated New York until now.</p><p>And, funny thing: Namath and the "new" Namath couldn't be more opposite.</p><p>For starters, Namath lived the high life in Manhattan and earned the nickname "Broadway Joe" from hitting the clubs hard. Manning is "Easy Eli" who only sees Manhattan from the window of his condo in Hoboken, N.J. And he isn't known to touch many clubs unless he pulls one from the deck.</p><p>"I've known Archie, his father, for many years," said Namath. "I've followed the Manning family. I've watched as much of Eli as I could. I was far more patient with Eli than most. I've always thought he handled himself beautifully. And it didn't matter what people said about him. For his teammates to elect him captain, that speaks the loudest."</p><p>Namath even suspects the Giants haven't played their best game yet.</p><p>"That game against the Packers wouldn't have gone into overtime if the Giants didn't make mistakes," said Namath. "They know they can do better."</p><p>Well, this would be the right time for that to happen. It'll take a supreme effort to slow Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, Randy Moss and company, just as it took to upset Unitas and Shula nearly 40 years ago. Namath made a place in history for himself off that game, which people ask him about, oh, every day.</p><p>"And I've never gotten tired of answering," he said.</p><p>All Manning and the Giants need to do is beat the Patriots, and New York will show them the same love given to Namath and the Jets.</p><p>Guaranteed.</p><p>Distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service AP-NY-01-27-08 1839EST</p>